Quite commonly, components used by home builders and "do-it-yourself" craftsmen are purchased at a hardware store or homebuilder's warehouse. Because home construction needs vary significantly from home to home, and even from repair to repair, typically manufacturers of home building components produce and sell a multiplicity of products in various sizes, whether the component is used in carpentry, plumbing, electrical work, or any of a number of other construction or repair fields. Products manufactured by the same manufacturer are generally displayed together on one or more display stands, which typically comprise horizontal shelves supported by vertical frame members. Most often, such shelves are about 8 feet in length and approximately 2 feet in depth and can be spaced vertically from each other to enable customers to identify and access products displayed thereon.
Above the uppermost shelf, extra products, product literature, or other items can be stored; these additional items are often hidden from the consumer's view by a pair of advertising signs displayed on the shelves that identifies the source of the goods and generally provides product information. Typically, each sign is formed of paper or cardboard and is mounted on a 4 foot by 4 foot square sheet of plywood. The outer edge of each plywood sheet is then attached by a pair of hinges to an outermost frame member. The hinged interconnection between the plywood sheets and the frame enables store personnel to access the items stored behind the sign.
This display configuration has certain shortcomings. The plywood sheets are included because the paper or cardboard signs themselves are insufficiently rigid to be self-supporting in a 4 foot by 4 foot square sheet when vertically disposed and hung by a side edge only. The plywood sheets are quite heavy; as a result, they require large hinges and are somewhat difficult to hang when the display is erected. In addition, the supplier of the goods, who is generally responsible for providing the signs, often ships the signs already attached to the plywood with the goods. As such, the signs are subjected to the same shipping, transport, and storage conditions as the goods themselves. These conditions may include being transported on a forklift or other relocating device. Plywood sheets have proven to be quite susceptible to breakage if subjected to sudden impact loads, particularly the type of load applied by a forklift ramming or spearing the plywood.
Another difficulty encountered by store personnel relates to the display of multiple related products from a common source. On many occasions, the supplier will provide display cartons that rest upon the display stand shelves and store multiple units of a particular product. The cartons, which are typically sized in direct relationship to the size of the product itself, are placed side-by-side on the shelves by store personnel, with vacant shelf space being minimized or eliminated entirely. Although it would be desirable to display the products in a manner that facilitates customer identification and access, often the cartons are sized so that they can be arranged on the shelves in only a few, or on some occasions only one, configuration that minimizes vacant shelf space. Such a display configuration prevents the shelf stocker from customizing the display to fit the needs of a particular store, which may differ considerably from the needs of a store in different geographic or socioeconomic area.
In view of the foregoing, it is an object of the present invention to provide a display apparatus having display signs that provide accessible storage space for undisplayed products and that are easily hung from conventional display shelving.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a display apparatus having display signs that are less prone to breakage during shipping, relocation within a store, and hanging.
It is an additional object of the present invention to provide a display apparatus having display cartons that enable store personnel to customize the display according to the needs of a particular store.